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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26010511">It Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePianoforteFromEmma/pseuds/ThePianoforteFromEmma'>ThePianoforteFromEmma</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Macbeth - Shakespeare, Original Work, SHAKESPEARE William - Works</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:48:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26010511</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePianoforteFromEmma/pseuds/ThePianoforteFromEmma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Macbeth but it's high schoolers who take student government way too seriously.<br/>Macbeth is kind of a dudebro, Lady M is ambitious but not allowed to show it, and all the witches are queer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Act One; Scene One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this beginning to a story about a year and a half ago, it's posted here in case anyone wants to read it, but all completed chapters have been posted. If for some reason you really like my messy first draft of a few chapters and want me to continue this at some point, drop a comment and we'll see what happens.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           It was fitting that their last student government meeting was taking place on such a dreary, miserable day, because it had been dreary, miserable experience. Wanda didn’t articulate this thought; doing so would only have gotten her an eye roll from William and a meaningless platitude from Willow, and she’d had enough of both to last a lifetime. As the three of them settled into the corner table at their favorite café, Wanda considered walking out into the pouring rain, which would almost certainly be preferable to running a meeting. Running the meetings wasn’t even supposed to be her job, but once again she had been the one to set it up and she would be the one keeping everyone on track. Which was going to be difficult, because Wanda could tell by Willow’s expression that she was about to launch into a sentimental speech.</p><p>            “It’s our last meeting, so I think we need to take a minute to reflect on how far we’ve come. How much we’ve progressed. The relationship we’ve built with each other. I’m going to miss you all so much.” Willow’s eyes had turned glassy, and she wiped what might have been an actual tear from her eye. “I can’t believe this is it for us.”</p><p>            “It’s not.” A few months ago, Wanda would have hesitated to cut Willow off and change the tone of a meeting so drastically. Back then, she had admired Willow for winning the election and becoming president of student council. But as time had progressed, Wanda had realized that if anything was going to get done, she’d have to stop Willow’s emotions dead in their tracks.</p><p>            “What do we have left to do?” William asked mildly, because everything he did was mild. He’d follow everyone else’s lead, but never make an actual decision for himself. It was no small miracle that he’d managed to be elected vice president. Willow was also looking at Wanda blankly, so she sighed and prepared herself for another day of doing the work of three people, despite being elected to the lowest position and, as a result, not getting any credit.</p><p>            “We need to meet once to finalize the voting platform. We’re using an online form for the first time this year, so we need to figure out how we’re going to lay it out. I was thinking we could meet Monday morning in the library for that. Then, on Friday, we need to meet with the winners to talk to them about their responsibilities and all that. I don’t know where you want to have that meeting, but anywhere should work.”  </p><p>            Willow brightened. “Could we have it outside? On the field?”</p><p>            “What if it’s raining?” William, ever the realist, did make a good point. They’d been caught in a bad weather cycle for the past few days.</p><p>            “Then we can move it inside, but please? It’s so nice being outside and it’ll be funny to see Mathilda and Diane on a soccer field.” Willow absentmindedly began to braid her hair. “Although Matt being there makes so much sense that it’s almost not funny anymore.” No one commented on Willow’s assertion that Mathilda, Diane, and Matt would win the election. Though Willow had few redeeming qualities in Wanda’s eyes, her intuition was spot on. When she knew things she shouldn’t have known, Willow’s eyes would drift off, focusing on some unseen point in the distance. People ignored her most of the time, but when Willow got that look on her face, they knew it was time to shut up and listen.</p><p>            Before she could elaborate on her vision of student government, Willow’s eyes focused once more. Sensing Wanda and William’s gazes fixed on her, Willow sighed. “I only saw the three of them. A crown of dandelions. And these bright white bathroom tiles. That was it. Three images. And a sense of something bad happening.” As she spoke, Wanda scribbled the three images into a notebook she’d begun taking to meetings for this very purpose. “I’m sorry for throwing us off track, I’m sure everything will be fine. Wanda, what else were you saying?”<br/>
            “Actually, I think that’s it. Just remember to meet in the library on Monday. Half an hour before school starts should be enough time. Beyond that, I think we’re done.”</p><p>William nodded at Wanda, then stood. “I have to go, actually. So much homework. I’ll see you on Monday.”</p><p>Seated across from Willow, Wanda wondered whether she was too harsh. Sure, she had been doing all the work associated with being president and had gotten none of the credit, but Willow’s life couldn’t be easy, especially with all those visions floating in and out of her line of sight. Her sympathy was short lived, though, as Willow mumbled some excuse and left without so much as a thank you. Shaking her head slightly, Wanda leafed through her notebook, considering the visions Willow had had recently.</p><p>The most recent visions before the ones about the election had been about a muddy sneaker, a c-shaped scratch in a table, and a navy-blue color, all accompanied by a sense of deep discomfort. It made no sense, but Willow’s visions never made sense until they came true. Predictable, Wanda thought, that Willow’s hidden talent was never useful until it was too late. Especially when her visions lately had been so bleak, accompanied by feelings of unavoidable horror.</p><p>As she stared into the pouring rain, Wanda hoped that when whatever storm Willow was predicting came, no one would be hurt.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Act One; Scene Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>      Diane hated the fact that she was awake at seven in the morning on the weekend, but some sacrifices were necessary. As editor of the school newspaper and favorite to win the Duncan High student government election on Thursday, she needed to stay on top of everything, and everything happened to include the results of the varsity soccer team’s game. Texting a choice few people on the team (not so many that she appeared desperate, but enough that she appeared concerned), Diane considered the possible outcomes.</p>
<p>     The game was against Northbrook, Duncan’s rival school. If Duncan lost, Matt, the captain of the soccer team, wouldn’t stand a chance. If Duncan won, the soccer team would have an elated school on their side by Monday. Diane’s boyfriend was a soccer player, so she’d get some benefit from it, but more people might consider voting for Matt, who was team captain. Her leadership skills and popularity would definitely give her an edge over Matt, who was not particularly bright, but intelligence might not be enough to beat Matt by a margin that would allow her to command respect once in office. Beating Matt by two votes wouldn’t be enough; she would need to secure a greater margin of victory.</p>
<p>     Really, though, the problem was Claire. As captain of the cheerleading squad, Claire was popular and smart enough to be comparable to Diane. The two of them would most likely end up splitting the vote among the group they were most popular among: the underclassmen girls who wanted to be them and the upperclassmen girls who feared them. If Claire weren’t running, Diane would sweep the election.</p>
<p>     Diane’s phone buzzed. A text message from a sophomore on the soccer team who was low enough on the social ladder that a text from Diane warranted an immediate answer.</p>
<p><em>     We won! </em>She frowned at her phone. That was hardly the explanation of key events she wanted. Hopefully he’d explain more without her having to prompt him. Another buzz from her phone.</p>
<p>
  <em>     The other team brought out this guy who was absolutely huge, we were so freaked out. Apparently he’s their secret weapon this season or something, a freshman who’s crazy good but really big. Matt and Ben weren’t scared at all though. They just kept on going, and we won! </em>
</p>
<p>     Alright, so Matt would have more support going into the election. Surely Diane could deal with that. Maybe she could poach some of Claire’s votes. As she considered ways to get Claire out of the election, Diane’s phone buzzed again. The same sophomore, desperate for attention.</p>
<p><em>     One weird thing: I heard this rumor about Claire. </em>Intrigued, Diane waited for a follow up message, but none arrived. Grudgingly, she responded.</p>
<p>
  <em>     Rumor?</em>
</p>
<p>     Barely two seconds later, she saw he had begun to type his reply. <em>Someone told me she’s hooking up with a Northbrook player. No guarantees, but it’s what I heard.</em></p>
<p>     Diane smiled. A Northbrook player. With that, she could take down Claire’s entire campaign. All she needed was a more reliable source, someone other people would believe had access to personal information about Claire. A rumor wouldn’t be enough, but a story corroborated by another cheerleader would absolutely annihilate Claire’s campaign. Luckily, Diane had just the person.</p>
<p><em>     How would you like to be captain of the cheerleading squad? </em>Diane didn’t expect Lila to be awake so early, but the response took only seconds.</p>
<p>
  <em>     I’m listening.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>     All I need you to do is to tell people something I heard without tracing it back to me. If they ask questions, say you know it’s true. Got it?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>     What’s the story and how will it make me captain? </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>     You tell people that Claire has been hooking up with a Northbrook soccer player. Everyone turns on her and wants her off the squad, you challenge her for the leadership. The other cheerleaders will stand with you. Just make sure the story gets to as many people as possible without seeming fake. </em>
</p>
<p><em>     I didn’t know you were this ruthless, Diane. </em>Diane’s pulse accelerated. Lila was ambitious, but surely not so ambitious that she’d screenshot this conversation and post it online. Too late, she realized a call would have been far less traceable. She’d just have to trust that Lila wouldn’t turn on her, especially when it would make her look bad as well.</p>
<p>
  <em>     So is that a yes?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>     I’ll do it. Not for you, though.</em>
</p>
<p>Diane frowned at her phone. <em>Obviously not. </em>The only reason she’d asked Lila to spread the rumor was because they’d both benefit from it.</p>
<p>
  <em>     It’s not for me, either. It’s for Matt. </em>
</p>
<p>How telling people lies about Claire would benefit Lila’s boyfriend was unclear, but Diane shrugged it off. <em>Just get the story out by Monday. Thanks for your help.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Act One; Scene Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “Did you hear about Claire and that Northbrook player?” Wanda asked Willow and William as they hunched over the library table, working on the online form they would use for the election.</p><p>     “Don’t talk about that.” Willow’s eyes bored into Wanda’s skull with an intensity that was reserved for her righteous speeches. “Can you imagine how she must feel? Everyone’s been whispering about her all morning, and now she’ll show up at school to hear people she barely knows passing judgement on her. It’s ridiculous and you shouldn’t contribute to it.”</p><p>     “Like you’re not contributing to this form?” Wanda felt a little bit bad for being so passive aggressive, but if Willow wanted her to play nicely, she wouldn’t have attacked her for participating in routine school gossip.</p><p>     “She’s contributing to the form, Wanda. We need someone to check the spellings on the candidates’ names and to make sure each candidate is listed.” William, ever the peacemaker, wasn’t brave enough to look Wanda in the eye, instead tracing a crack in the library table.</p><p>     “I’m just saying, if she’s getting mad at me for making small talk, she’s probably not doing her job of checking names. Unless, of course, you agree with her and think school news is evil and needs to be stopped at all costs?”</p><p>     “I don’t think that.” Of course he didn’t agree with anyone. If William ever expressed an opinion, Wanda would probably die of shock.</p><p>     “Wanda.” Willow leaned across the table and lifted Wanda’s head from the laptop she was fixated on. “I wasn’t trying to say you were a bad person. What I meant was that things are going to be rough for Claire today, and I think that not talking about it if we can will make things easier. I’m sorry if it came across as aggressive.”</p><p>     An apology? From Willow? Unprecedented as it was, Wanda appreciated it. “I’m sorry for snapping at you,” she said grudgingly. “You are being helpful. And I realize gossip is bad, so I promise not to talk shit about Claire today.” As a gesture of good faith, Wanda turned her laptop towards Willow. “How do you feel about this color scheme?” Willow stiffened. “I’ll take that as a no.”</p><p>     “It’s not that I don’t like the color. It’s the one from my vision. The one before the café, the navy blue, the crack, and the sneaker.” As Willow rattled off the list, William made a noise of concern and gestured to the crack in the table he had been tracing. Willow glanced at it. “That’s the crack, so we’re just missing a sneaker and a feeling of discomfort.” She’d barely finished her words when the door cracked open. The three of them spun to watch as Matt and Ben, co-captains of the soccer team, strode in.</p><p>     Matt wasn’t the type to frequent the library. Something about seeing him in the carpeted, silent, otherwise-empty environment felt viscerally wrong to Wanda. He’d obviously just arrived at school, his hair still damp from the rain outside. A quick glance at his shoes, and Willow’s vision was complete.</p><p>     Ben, on the other hand, was a perfectly natural figure at the library. Wanda had seen him hide in the poetry section during his lunch break and, on some occasions, she had pointed him to books she thought he’d enjoy. His fingers twitched and he glanced at Matt, somehow awkward and composed at once.</p><p>     “Hey y’all,” Matt said. They looked at him blankly. He cleared his throat. “Um. So. I was hoping you could give me advice for the election?”</p><p>     Willow was slowly clenching and unclenching her fists, eyes glazed over unresponsively. William nudged at the ground with his toe. Shaking her head, Wanda steeled herself to once again take a responsibility that wasn’t hers. After all, their only other option was to sit in silence.</p><p>     “What do you need help with? You’ve already submitted your form, so there’s nothing you should need from us.”</p><p>     Matt shook his head. “Actually, it’s about my campaign.” He volunteered no more information.</p><p>     “Are you going to tell us, or will this be a game of twenty questions?” Perhaps Wanda was being a tad harsh, but she had run out of patience with Matt the day she had met him, when he’d asked her whether she or her girlfriend at the time was the man in their relationship.</p><p>     “No, it’s just, I don’t think people take me seriously.” Wanda almost laughed. No shit. Matt wasn’t someone to be taken seriously: half the things he said were misinformed enough to be funny, bordering on offensive. The real question was whether he was smart enough to realize that people didn’t like him because he was ignorant or whether he’d blame it on something irrelevant.</p><p>     As she waited for Matt to elaborate, Wanda noticed Willow’s nails beginning to cut into her palm and instinctively reached out to move her fingers. Whether Willow noticed her intervention, Wanda didn’t know, because Matt started to speak again.</p><p>     “I think it’s because I’m a soccer player. Everyone sees me as this jock rather than as someone whose smart and capable of running for office.” Ben, standing behind Matt, met Wanda’s eye and gave a <em>what can you do </em>shrug. She’d seen him at Queer Student Alliance a couple of times, so he was surely aware of Matt’s more tactless side and knew that this whole speech was a lie.</p><p>     “And how are we supposed to help you?” Wanda asked, annoyance beginning to leak into her words.</p><p>     Matt shrugged. “I was hoping to talk to Willow about that. She is president, after all. How can I win the election, Willow?” Wanda bristled at being passed over, though her anger was overshadowed by worry for Willow, who had begun rocking back and forth slightly, eyes closed. If Matt hadn’t noticed her unusual conduct before, he did now.</p><p>     “Willow?” he repeated, sounding genuinely concerned. As he approached her, most likely to try and shake her awake, Willow’s eyes snapped open. She extended her hand. Matt jumped backwards in fear; Wanda pulled out her notebook to catalog the vision she was sure would come.</p><p>     “Matt,” Willow rasped. This was unusual. For a normal vision, Willow’s voice would sound a touch more somber, but essentially the same. Now she sounded like she’d smoked a pack a day for fifty years. “Matt. Treasurer. That much is clear. But later on, things change. They grow, they move, they push and push and push until… Until he becomes president. President, but how will he get there? Certainly not the traditional way.” Wanda scribbled down the last few words, then looked up to make sure Matt hadn’t fainted in shock.</p><p>     He had not, because he was looking at Willow with a hateful glint in his eye. As Matt opened his mouth, Ben stepped forward. “Maybe we should go,” he said, grabbing Matt’s arm.</p><p>     Willow’s head had drooped following her first vision, but she picked it up to stare intently at Ben. She frowned. “Ben. After everything happens, someone… Someone will have to take over. I can’t tell if it will be you, but something about you reminds me of it. Similar, but different.”</p><p>     Ben nodded slowly, his hand still on Matt’s shoulder. “Okay. Matt, I think it’s time for us to go.”</p><p>     “Like hell it is. Are you pranking me, Willow? Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not an idiot, and I won’t let some crazy bitch convince me that I can’t win the election the ‘normal way,’ whatever that means. I deserve this.”</p><p>     “Matt, she’s clearly out of it. If you take issue with what she said, talk to her when she’s back at full capacity. For now, I’d appreciate it if you left.” William kept his eyes fixated on the ground as he spoke, but his words somehow carried authority. Maybe he was onto something, never asking anyone for anything so that when he did, people listened. Either way, Wanda was impressed at the rare show of backbone from William.</p><p>     Once the library door closed behind a still-miffed Matt, Wanda stood and walked around the table until she faced Willow, who seemed drowsy but functional. “What did you see?” she asked.</p><p>     “It was awful, Wanda. The worst one yet. It was…” A tear rolled down the bridge of her nose.</p><p>     “William, can you go get us some tissues?” He obliged, leaving the two of them alone. “Take it slow if you need to, but I think talking about it might help. Plus, that way we can both be a little more prepared for whatever horrible thing you saw coming.”</p><p>     Willow sniffed, and a hint of a smile spread across her face. “Who would have thought that my visions would be the only thing about me that you liked?”</p><p>     “I like plenty of things about you.”</p><p>     “That’s a lie. You probably can’t even name three.”</p><p>     “You’re trying to change the subject. Tell me what the vision was, and then I’ll give you three things I like about you.”</p><p>     Though she sighed, Willow looked significantly less lost. “I got this sense that Matt was going to be treasurer, which—”</p><p>     “You already saw that on Monday.”</p><p>     “If you want me to tell you my vision, you’re going to have to stop interrupting every ten seconds. Promise?”</p><p>     “I promise not to talk until you’re done.” Wanda looped her finger through Willow’s. “Pinky promise.”</p><p>     “Okay. I knew Matt was going to be treasurer already, but in this vision, I felt anger and hatred and cruelty when I thought of him. I think that’s how he was feeling. The next thing I saw was Claire, Diane, and Mathilda, and all three of them were injured badly. Claire had lost her arm, Diane’s ear had been cut off, and Mathilda’s whole body was covered in scratches. And standing behind them, smiling with this look of absolute joy, was a woman on a golden chair. I have no idea who she was, but she looked vaguely familiar. And I knew in that moment that somehow, Matt would become president.</p><p>     “Then I looked at Ben, and all I could see was how much he looked like Marla. How his hair curls the same way as hers does, and how they have the same colored eyes. One of them is going to be the key to preventing so much sadness, I just don’t know which one.”</p><p>     Wanda had been taking notes the whole time, but she looked up at the mention of Ben’s sister. “Marla? What does she have to do with Matt, or even student government in general?”</p><p>     “She’s so smart and people love her, so I tried to get her to run earlier this year. She didn’t, obviously, but I feel like she would have been an amazing president.” Wanda nodded, then moved to stand up. “Hey, where are you going?” Willow grabbed her hand. “You promised me three things you like about me before you go.”</p><p>     Wanda sank back onto the ground. Though Willow sometimes annoyed her, the only thing she actively disliked about Willow was that she wasn’t the kind of leader to take control in a group. Thinking of things she liked about Willow wasn’t the problem; thinking of the top three and saying them without sounding weird was. “I like that…”</p><p>     “See? I was right. You can’t even name three.”</p><p>     “If you want to hear my list, you can’t interrupt. And I was trying to think of my top three, for the record. I like that you’re honest, I like that you always think about other people’s feelings, and I like…” This had taken a weird turn. Wanda found herself wanting to say that she liked the way Willow’s hair spilled over her shoulders, the brightness in her eyes even though she’d just finished crying, the freckles on her nose, but all of that would make it sound like she was into Willow, which she wasn’t and if Willow thought she was that would obviously be disastrous so she needed to find a way to describe Willow as gorgeous while sounding platonic. “I like your hair. I don’t know what you do to it, but it’s lovely.” So maybe lovely had been a poor choice of words, but that was a mostly salvageable sentence.</p><p>     “Thank you. For the record, I love your hair too. I wish I could dye mine but I’m always too scared to do it.” Wanda smiled and stood, then walked back around the table to reach her bag. As she began to pack up, William entered with a box of tissues.</p><p>     “Do we still need these?” he asked.<br/>
     Willow shook her head. “Fortunately,” she said, “Wanda is a tissue box of a person. I’m all good. Thanks for getting the tissues though.”</p><p>     “Classic Wanda,” William grumbled sarcastically. “Sends me off to do something useless that she’s going to do better anyway.” Though she tensed at first, immediately thinking of a snappy comeback, Wanda relaxed at Willow’s laugh. It was kind of funny, she supposed, and mostly accurate. Shaking her head, Wanda smiled at William and walked out of the library.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Act One; Scene Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Diane had never seen someone do such perfect makeup in such a shitty mirror. The school bathrooms only had one tiny and deeply cracked mirror. Somehow, Lila was reapplying her makeup perfectly in a mirror that Diane couldn’t even execute a high ponytail in. She looked far too sophisticated for the damp interior of the bathroom, but the conversation they were having was appropriately sleazy for the surroundings.</p>
<p>     “I’m just saying, I don’t see why this is where you draw the line.” Lila shifted from mascara to lip gloss, which she applied in a gesture both calm and obsessive. “You were the one who texted me, saying that you wanted Claire out of the picture. You were the one who told me I could be captain of the cheerleading squad. You were the one who suggested spreading the rumor about her boyfriend. But now, when I’m actually doing something about it, suddenly you’re too moral for this?”</p>
<p>     “It’s not about morality.” Diane tapped her foot against the ground. Something about Lila made her anxious, but she could never quite place what it was. “It’s about compassion. If you’re going to tell her to quit in front of the entire rest of the team, that’s way meaner than talking to her in private. Why can’t you meet with her separately and ask her to let you take over, until things blow over? Then you can refuse to give her back her spot.”</p>
<p>     “Diane,” Lila gasped. “You’re brilliant! I hadn’t thought of that.” Diane breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course, I thought of that option, Diane,” Lila said, rolling her eyes. Tension returned to Diane’s body. “You don’t know Claire like I do. There is no way in hell she is giving up her captainship unless she knows all the girls have turned on her. And the only way she’ll believe they don’t want her anymore is if I challenge her during practice. Don’t worry, Diane, I’ve probably thought about this more than you have.” Anxious as she was, Diane did see Lila’s point.</p>
<p>     “Just promise me it won’t get out of hand.”<br/>     “Of course it won’t. Now get out of here, you’re supposed to be at a student government meeting, little miss president!” Lila pushed Diane out of the bathroom with a friendly, albeit painful shove.</p>
<p>     Though Diane had suspected she’d win the election, hearing her title used for the first time sent shivers down her spine. With Claire out of the picture, it hadn’t even been close. As she walked to the field, Diane wondered what the next year of student government would be like. She and the vice-president, Mathilda, had been taking the same honors and AP classes for years. Diane had initially attempted to build a rivalry with Mathilda, but her sweet, somewhat dorky personality had made tension impossible. Instead of a rivalry, she had a friend who had both a good work ethic and a fun personality.  </p>
<p>     The real question was how Matt would fit into the equation. Diane and Matt overlapped friend groups, but Mathilda’s friends were not known for being the sort of people Matt associated with. She was universally loved by the school’s less mainstream students: nerds, artists, and other subcultures. The exact kind of people who hated Matt for his inability to keep his mouth shut and insistence that he was the victim of a world that hated him.</p>
<p>     Shaking off her concerns, Diane scanned the field and found Mathilda sitting in a patch of dandelions some distance away from the field itself. “Tilda!” she called, waving. Upon closer inspection, Mathilda was making a dandelion crown. “Are we early?” Diane asked, sitting next to Mathilda.</p>
<p>     “I think so. William didn’t set a specific time, he just said after school, so I was going to wait for him here. Matt’s not here yet, but that’s predictable. I’d be surprised if he knows how to tell time.”</p>
<p>     “Ease up on him. We won’t get anything done if you’re snipping at him.”</p>
<p>     “Have you heard half the bullshit he says? Last week he actually told me to make him a sandwich. He meant it as a joke, but can you believe that he’s stupid enough to believe that that’s a funny joke? I’ll be the first to admit that my sense of humor is dumb, but this is a whole new level. It’s not even funny!”<br/>     “Tilda, I understand, I really do. But he’s been elected, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re going to have to work with him, and that means you’ll have to play nice.”</p>
<p>     “Like hell am I going to play nice with him!”</p>
<p>     “If not play nice, then at correct him respectfully. Otherwise he’ll never listen to you.”</p>
<p>     “I know you’re right, but I just want to be stubborn.”</p>
<p>     “And you’re doing a fantastic job of it. I promise to let you be stubborn, but you have to try to be respectful. Please.”</p>
<p>     “Fine <em>mom</em>, I promise to be nice. But if he’s an ass, I can’t promise I’ll control myself.” Mathilda finished the flower crown, then handed it to Diane. “For the president of student government, the queen, if you will, who is already moderating disputes among her subordinates.”</p>
<p>     “That was a fancy sentence, Tilda, but I’ll take it.” Diane placed the flower crown on her head. “I would make you one, but I’m horrible at these. Hang on, I’ll pick you a bouquet.”</p>
<p>     Diane had almost completed her bouquet when Matt and William arrived. William immediately sat facing Diane and Mathilda, but Matt remained standing for a beat too long. When he realized no one else was going to stand, Matt blushed and tried to sink to the ground with dignity.</p>
<p>     “Hello everyone,” William said, “and congratulations on making it to student government. This is your first meeting, so I’m just going to go over some logistics for today. Are there any questions before I start?”</p>
<p>     “Where are Willow and Wanda?” asked Matt.</p>
<p>     William looked slightly uncomfortable. “Willow’s sick and Wanda wanted to make sure she got home safely.” It was a lie about as subtle as an elephant riding a unicycle. Willow would be able to get home safely without an escort no matter how sick she was—she lived two blocks away. No, there was an excuse for their absence, but it wasn’t one William could explain in front of them.</p>
<p>     As William launched into a long-winded explanation about how to effectively run a student government meeting, Diane considered what Wanda and Willow could really be up to. Willow was kind of spacy and could have been absent for any number of reasons. Maybe she’d forgotten or had gotten so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed it was time for her to arrive at the meeting. But that didn’t explain Wanda’s absence, and William wouldn’t cover for her if it was just an issue of her getting lost in thought.</p>
<p>     Wanda wouldn’t miss this meeting. She may have only been the treasurer, but she was the backbone of the student government. Diane had attended each of the last year’s public meetings, and Wanda had always been there, running the show. Why was she suddenly willing to trust William to do the job? Did she not care about the next year’s leadership? It seemed unlikely, unless she had a problem with one of them specifically.</p>
<p>     Diane tried to tune back in to the meeting, but she was distracted. Had she somehow alienated Wanda? Diane was so preoccupied with rehashing the (admittedly few) conversations she’d had with Wanda that she barely noticed when William stood. It took a less-than-subtle nudge in the shoulder from Mathilda for her to realize that the meeting was over.</p>
<p>     “Sounds like this is going to be really fun. I have to get to practice, though. Bye!” Matt waved awkwardly then began jogging towards the soccer team.</p>
<p>     Once Matt was out of earshot, Mathilda turned to William. “So why aren’t Wanda and Willow here?”</p>
<p>     William sighed. “Was it really that obvious that I was lying?”</p>
<p>     “Maybe not to Matt, but he’s oblivious to that kind of thing.” Mathilda paused. “And to almost everything. Sorry Diane, couldn’t resist.”</p>
<p>     Diane waved her hand dismissively, then frowned at William. “Why aren’t they here? Are they mad at me? I’ve been trying to think of what I could have done, but nothing comes to mind.”</p>
<p>     “Of course they’re not mad at you.” William shook his head, then groaned. “I shouldn’t be telling you this. Swear on your life that this stays here.” Mathilda and Diane nodded. “Okay. Matt said something kind of shitty to Willow, and Wanda is super pissed at him because she’s become the Willow Thomas Defense Squad. Willow didn’t want to come because she doesn’t like being around people who make her sad, and Wanda said she’d punch Matt if she had to look in his stupid little face again. Her words, not mine.”</p>
<p>     “What did he call her?” Diane had never been able to resist hearing every detail of gossip.</p>
<p>     “I believe his exact words were ‘crazy bitch.’”</p>
<p>     Mathilda whistled. “Wow. No wonder. He’s kind of an asshole, isn’t he?”</p>
<p>     “An asshole you have to work with for the next year and a half,” Diane said. “Remember that before you get too caught up in hating him.”</p>
<p>     “You have to see where she’s coming from, though. He’s not a fun guy to work with.” William looked at his watch. “We should probably head back to the main building.” As they began the trek back to school, William and Mathilda exchanging grievances about Matt, Diane tried to bury the growing sense of unease in her heart.</p>
<p>     It was that sense of unease that kept her from being surprised when Claire tore past them, running into the school at a speed faster than Diane would have thought possible, given Claire’s typical composure and grace.  </p>
<p>     “Is that Claire?” asked Mathilda.</p>
<p>     “I think so. I’m going to take a wild guess and assume something’s wrong.” William looked legitimately concerned for Claire’s well-being, something Diane would have found touching if her heart weren’t constricting with familiar guilt.</p>
<p>     “We should go talk to her, see if she’s okay.” Mathilda didn’t even finish her sentence before jogging after Claire. William joined her, Diane following halfheartedly. Before she could reach the building, Diane felt a hand clamp on her shoulder.</p>
<p>     “Oh my God, do I have the best story for you! The plan went so well,” Lila’s voice quieted to a hush. “I’m so glad we did this!” She grinned, somehow looking flawless despite apparently coming from a cheerleading practice.</p>
<p>     “Does it end with Claire running into the school in tears? Because that’s what I just saw. What the hell, Lila? You told me you could handle this, that it would be fine this way.”</p>
<p>     “Calm down, you’re being ridiculous. Yes, Claire did cry, but give me a second to explain. We were in warm ups, and everyone was already side-eyeing her because, well, she hasn’t addressed the rumors all day. Then she started trying to tell us what to do, and I asked her why we should do anything she told us to, given that she wasn’t even rooting for our school. She had the nerve to tell me it was none of my business—can you imagine? None of my business, when it’s affecting the whole team’s morale?”</p>
<p>     “Lila, I feel like you’re forgetting that we made this story up. Claire didn’t do anything wrong.” Except stand between Diane and the presidency, Diane thought bitterly. Her anger was entirely self-directed, but that didn’t make it any weaker.</p>
<p>     “It doesn’t matter. If the whole squad is pissed at her because of something, it’s her responsibility to address it. And since she didn’t, I told her that when she disrespected me, it was disrespecting the team. I suggested we put the captainship up to vote, and I won! She started acting like she was going to leave, so I told her she wasn’t excused from practice just because she wasn’t captain anymore, and she glared at me. Totally awful attitude!”</p>
<p>     “Lila. Get. To. The. Point. What did you say to Claire?”</p>
<p>     “I didn’t say anything. I don’t need petty insults to get respect. Some of the other girls got a little carried away, though. Someone might have called her a slut and someone else may have insinuated that her Northbrook boyfriend had probably already broken up with her because she was such an intolerable bitch.”</p>
<p>     “How do you insinuate something that complicated?”</p>
<p>     "She didn't insinuate it so much as outright say it, but—"</p>
<p>     "I'm sorry. Are you not the captain of the cheerleading squad? Was that not the whole point of this thing? Why did you not control your squad and stop them from trash-talking Claire?” Diane heard the command in her voice, the aggression she rarely ever used, and felt the thrill of control over someone who desperately needed it.</p>
<p>     “Because in their eyes, she deserves it.” Diane hadn’t expected Lila to back down, but the intensity in her eyes was stronger than she’d expected. “Think about it. From their perspective, Claire just betrayed the team. They’re hurt and angry. Look, I’ll admit things got a little out of hand, but a little bit of teasing is perfectly normal on the team.”<br/>     What a perfect non-apology, Diane thought. She began with a justification, admitted enough fault to appease Diane without taking any real blame, and normalized the insults. Not for the first time, Diane wondered why Lila wasn’t on the debate team.</p>
<p>     “Nothing like this can happen again. You have to control your squad.” Diane cringed, knowing that by giving in to Lila’s version of events, she was effectively losing the argument. She hated to back down, but there was nothing left for her to push on.</p>
<p>     “I absolutely will. And, if you’re worried about Claire, I’m hosting this little get together tomorrow night. Just a few close friends. You should come, and I’ll invite Claire, okay? I promise you, no one will be personally attacking her because no one actually meant anything they said. Everything will be fine, I promise.”</p>
<p>     Biting back her concerns, Diane nodded. “See you tomorrow, then.” Swallowing down the bitter taste of the words, she added “Congratulations on making captain.” Lila’s answering smile made clear that she knew she had won.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If anyone reads until here, leave a comment! I'm curious about whether anyone reads past the first chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Act One; Scene Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Lila never woke up late. When she’d been younger, she’d complained about having to wake up early to do chores or work out or cook or do whatever her mother deemed a good use of her time. By now, she’d gotten used to it. Sometimes she was so exhausted that she dozed off in class, but she’d never been good at sleeping through the night anyway. Matt had no such restrictions on his life. The earliest he’d text Lila back on a weekend was eleven, so she assumed he didn’t wake up much before then.</p><p>    How he had ever managed to live an organized, productive life before her, she’d never know. She’d noticed that Matt didn’t like it when she texted him early in the morning: he was constantly worried about how little she slept. Lila supposed she should have been grateful to have such a concerned boyfriend, but mostly, it was annoying. She lived her life in a way that worked for her, and that should have been enough for him. After all, the results of letting her do what she wanted were superb. She’d taken control of the cheerleading squad before the end of the season and led her boyfriend’s student government campaign to victory, and she was only a junior.</p><p>    Matt hadn’t seemed too pleased about becoming treasurer of student government, Lila thought as she began her morning run. It was annoying, too, when she’d worked so hard just to make him a legitimate candidate, that he was so unappreciative. That was just Matt’s nature, being unwilling to push himself to the furthest extremes. If he’d only practiced his speech a few more times, or been friendlier when meeting people he didn’t know, Lila’s job would have been so much easier. Really, though, it should have been Lila on student government. She would have been capable of maneuvering the election with such expertise that she would have won, despite the fact that most of the student body was either ambivalent towards her or outright despised her. But it didn’t matter, Lila concluded, because she had decided not to run for office.</p><p>    When she came home after her run, Lila’s house was empty. It was a Saturday morning, so her brother had a soccer game that the whole family had gone to cheer at. Never mind the fact that no one had ever come to her cheerleading competitions except to drop her off. It was good that everyone was gone, she supposed, because that way she was free to do whatever she wanted to. In this case, that was to eat a granola bar in a decidedly unladylike fashion over the kitchen sink. Had her mother been home, there would have been an in-depth breakdown of the nutritional value of the bar and a command to eat off a plate, but she wasn’t so Lila could do whatever the hell she wanted.</p><p>    Her phone chimed; a text from Matt. He was clarifying the time and place they were meeting this afternoon. They were supposed to be celebrating him getting onto student government, but Lila suspected something different was at play. Matt had been acting weird since Monday, so she was hoping for an explanation. If he didn’t volunteer one, she’d draw it out of him. It was what she was best at, extricating information from those unwilling to share it with her. Ben had once joked she could easily find a job at Guantanamo Bay, which had made her bristle. He always looked at her like he knew exactly what she was doing, though that was impossible. She had always been good at hiding in plain sight.</p><p>    Shaking away the thoughts that crowded in her head, Lila messaged Claire, inviting her to the party that night. She’d promised Diane she’d do it the night before, but something about relegating Claire to a last-minute invite felt so much more fitting. The girl who’d held herself so far above Lila for so long, now barely making it onto the guest list for an event that wasn’t even a party. Served that haughty bitch right. Wiping the crumbs off her hands, Lila went upstairs to halfheartedly attempt her homework.</p><p>    Though she tried not to do too much schoolwork, fearing it would make her come off as too aggressive or superior, Lila found herself so absorbed in an English essay that she was almost late to meet with Matt. Cursing herself for losing focus on what mattered, Lila speed-walked to the coffee shop he’d set as the meeting point. She hated coffee, but Matt liked it, so she pretended to love the smell and taste of coffee beans, both of which disgusted her to the core. Heaving in her last breath of fresh, clean air, Lila entered the shop.</p><p>    Matt was, surprisingly, already there. He was usually late to everything, something that would have annoyed Lila if he were anyone else. As she approached the table, she realized he looked nervous. Her first thought was that he was about to break up with her, but she brushed it off. There was no recent development in their relationship that could make him want her less. She leaned across the table to kiss him (he didn’t pull back—a good sign), then sat down.</p><p>    “What’s wrong?” she asked, trying to appear as concerned as possible. She did care about Matt, but for the most part, she wanted to assuage her curiosity.</p><p>    “How did you know something was wrong?” Lila shrugged. “You know me so well. It’s probably nothing, it’s just… Willow said something really weird the other day.”</p><p>    “Willow always says weird things. It’s part of her charm.” Lila hated Willow for her constant nonchalance, but saying that out loud would annoy Matt when she needed him to focus and explain.</p><p>    “I know, but this was next level. Have you ever heard anything about Willow, and this is going to sound crazy, but like, giving prophecies?”<br/>    Lila started. “What did she tell you?”<br/>    “It was so weird. She told me that I was going to become treasurer for sure, which, I did, so she must be right. It was the next part that was wild. She said I’d become president, just not in the usual way. I got so pissed at her for not believing I could make president the normal way—what does that even mean, that I’ll get there in a weird way? Anyways, I thought it was weird that she was right about the first part and I was wondering if there’s any chance she could be right about the second part. I mean, it’s not like I even want to be president that badly, but it could be cool.”</p><p>    Lila was barely listening. Willow had always been able to see straight through her soul, and she’d given Lila a similarly cryptic piece of advice a few months back, something about taking three steps back when she saw a yellow bicycle. Two weeks later, Lila had seen the yellow bicycle and stepped back, just as a car hit the very spot she’d been standing. The incident had left her shaken and with a firm belief that Willow knew what she was talking about.</p><p>    This, on the other hand, this prediction of the election, was on a whole new level. If Willow had said Matt would be president, Lila believed her. But how would he get there, when he was so afraid of taking action to get what he wanted? From the very start of his campaign, Lila had been the one doing the work, encouraging Matt to work harder, convincing people to take him seriously. It had been hard. And now he was just going to throw it away, accepting a position as treasurer when fate clearly intended for him to be president.</p><p>    Though her blood boiled, Lila forced a placid smile on her face. “Matt, I think Willow is right. I’ve heard rumors about her being great at predicting the future and I think if she sees you as president, it’s because you’re meant to be there. All that stuff about not getting there the usual way is probably because you were elected treasurer, so two people would have to step down for you to get to be president.”</p><p>    “Yeah.” Matt sighed, toeing the bottom of the table. “I kind of wish there were some way for me to become president.”</p><p>    Lila frowned. “I thought you just said that you didn’t want to be president that badly.”</p><p>    “I know, it’s just that no one thinks I can do it. They think I’m dumb just because I’m athletic. It would be cool, showing them what I can do.”</p><p>    Though he wasn’t showing as much ambition as she had hoped he would, the anger Lila saw lurking behind his eyes was enough for her to move forward with the plan she’d spun as he told her his story.</p><p>    “Matt, I think I have a way for you to become president,” she said, tapping her fingers on the table. As soon as she noticed the nervous habit, she stilled her hands. Nerves were for the unconfident and the weak, and she was neither. “But for it to work, you have to be one hundred percent invested in this. You have to really, really want to be president. More than anything else right now.”</p><p>    Matt shrugged. “I mean, it’s cool and all, but I don’t think I’m <em>that</em> invested in it.”</p><p>    Alright, so Matt would need a little nudging. Cooly wrapping her hair around a finger, Lila leaned forward. “So, you’re just going to let everyone believe that you’re a dumb soccer player who never should have made it onto student government in the first place?” Poking at his insecurities wasn’t necessarily nice, but it was almost always effective.</p><p>    Immediately, Matt’s face turned red. “Did someone say that? Have people been saying I shouldn’t even be on student government in the first place?”<br/>    Lila simply shrugged. “Don’t worry about what other people are or aren’t saying. What matters is you. Do you want to be president?”</p><p>    “Yes.”</p><p>    “How much?”<br/>    “More than anything else.”<br/>    “And why do you want it?”<br/>    “To show everyone else that they were wrong about me.”</p><p>    Lila grinned. “Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking. We need Mathilda and Diane to step down, but they’re never going to do that on their own. So, we use a little bit of information I have on them to nudge them out of office.”</p><p>    “You mean we blackmail them.”</p><p>    “Blackmail is such a harsh term. This is more… us letting them know what we know and encouraging them to do as we say because if they don’t, we might accidentally let the information we have slip.”</p><p>    “Sounds like blackmail to me,” Matt said, tapping his foot against the ground. “I don’t know, Lila, this just sounds mean.”</p><p>    She hadn’t expected him to give in easily. “It’s not a bad thing to do. Think about it. Mathilda’s constantly busy with the eight thousand clubs she runs, so student government will just be too stressful for her. And Diane isn’t even qualified to be president. She doesn’t know a thing about how the meetings work and her only good quality is that she’s popular. So really, you’d be helping Diane avoid embarrassment and saving Mathilda from lots of work. In a way, it would be helping them.”</p><p>    About half of that speech was verifiably false, but Lila was mostly sure Matt wouldn’t notice. For him to know that Diane was actually very qualified, given the number of student government meetings she’d attended over the last year, he’d have had to go to the same meetings, which she knew for a fact he hadn’t.</p><p>    Matt was slowly nodding his head. “Okay, I still feel weird about this, but I do want to be president. I think I can get on board with this, as long as it’s not too blackmail-y.”<br/>    Lila smiled and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. “I promise you: none of this is mean, none of this will be blackmail. It’s just us being honest with other people about what we know and what we can do with that information.”</p><p>    “What do you know about them that’s so shocking they’ll be willing to step down?” asked Matt.</p><p>    “It doesn’t really matter, does it? We’ll let them know what we know tonight; I’ll invite Mathilda to make it easier. At some point, I’ll drag them off to the side and we’ll have a little chat. I promise, you won’t have to do a thing and you’ll end up president. Okay?”</p><p>    “Okay,” Matt said, something like admiration glinting in his eyes.</p><p>    Lila squeezed his hand once more, then slid her chair back and stood. “I have to go. Lots of planning for tonight!” Flashing one last grin over her shoulder at him, Lila left the cafe.</p><p>    As she walked home, Lila finally let out the sigh of frustration that had been gathering in her chest from the moment Matt began speaking. If she had been treasurer and Willow had told her she’d become president, she would have stopped at nothing to get what destiny had declared hers. No one would have had to convince her. She wouldn’t even have had to blackmail her way into the presidency (and it was blackmail, despite what she told Matt) because she would have won it in the election. Lila caught herself dwelling on what would have happened if she’d run for president instead of Matt and forced herself to push the thought out of her head. It was about as useful as imagining what would have happened if she’d been born in Sweden: an interesting thought experiment, but ultimately impractical when it came to her life.</p><p>    The door to her house was locked when she got there, and Lila cursed herself for forgetting to bring a key. For someone whose strategic thinking skills were so strong, she could be a dumbass sometimes. She didn’t particularly feel like finding an open window and climbing through it, so she took a gamble and knocked, praying that the one in three odds worked out in her favor.</p><p>    Unsurprisingly, they did not. Lila’s mother opened the door, lines of concern creased into her face. “Where were you, Lila?” It would have been a touching performance if Lila had harbored even the slightest delusion that it was genuine.</p><p>    “With Matt. We were celebrating him getting onto student council.” Lila shouldered past her mother and into the house, hoping she could walk quickly enough to escape a conversation.</p><p>    “Well isn’t that nice. Look at you, being so supportive of your boyfriend. Aren’t you glad you didn’t waste your time running for president? It’s so much more fun to manage the campaign, especially for someone like you. You come up with good plans, but no one would ever think you were more likeable than Matt.”</p><p>    Biting back the endless responses that bubbled at her tongue, Lila nodded. “You were absolutely right. I’m going to go work on homework now. Oh, also, I’m having friends over tonight.”</p><p>    “That’s fine, dear. No one else will be home, if that matters.”</p><p>    Lila nodded—she had expected as much—and sped to her room. Once she was safely ensconced within her own space, Lila pulled out her phone and took screenshots of the messages she’d need for that night. She opened her laptop, intending to back the photos up on multiple drives, but instead found herself face to face with the essay she’d begun writing earlier that day. As she skimmed her words, Lila was almost surprised by how well she’d written.</p><p>    Glancing around furtively, Lila made a copy of the original before deleting chunks from it. The result: a mediocre hodgepodge of dubious but respectable grammar and underdeveloped ideas. It was almost too easy, she thought, playing the part of the golden girl, the perfect girlfriend. But it would be so much easier if she didn’t want more.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Act One; Scene Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Diane knew she shouldn’t be afraid of the door. Yes, it was tall, and yes, it was imposing, but the door itself couldn’t hurt her. The people behind it could potentially ruin her entire life, but that wasn’t something they’d be interested in doing. Probably. As badly as Diane wanted to trust Lila, the suspicious glint she’d seen lurking in her eyes was enough for Diane to hesitate about knocking. That was always how it worked in fairy tales, she remembered. It was once you crossed the threshold that you could no longer leave. Eat the food of the fae, drink their drink, and you would be trapped forever.</p><p>     But Lila wasn’t a faerie and she wouldn’t take Diane hostage, so there was really no reason for her to delay in knocking other than her own fear that she’d misplaced her trust by having Lila bring down Claire. The image of Claire’s stricken, tear-stained face flashed in her mind, and Diane hesitated once more, hand frozen halfway between her side and the door.</p><p>     “Typically, it’s considered polite to knock instead of standing outside like a stalker,” came a voice behind her. Diane turned, only to see Claire herself, looking decidedly more put together. Next to her was Mathilda, tapping her foot nervously.</p><p>     “Hey, Claire,” Diane said. Her words felt forced around the knot of guilt in her throat. It was her own fault, her own reckless ambition that was responsible for Claire’s misery the night before. No matter how much she wanted to pass the blame on to Lila, Diane knew she was the real problem. “Mathilda, I didn’t know you were coming.”<br/>     “Neither did I. Lila texted me earlier today. I wasn’t going to come, but Claire convinced me to go and, if you’re here, then I know at least two people.”</p><p>     Mathilda and Claire stepped onto the porch to be on even ground with Diane, who tried to position them as far from the door and windows as possible. “You’ll know more than two people. The question is actually ‘are any of the people in there nice?’”</p><p>     “And the short answer,” Claire said, “is no.”</p><p>     “That’s somewhat true, but the long answer is that some of them are nice people who are only not-nice in their willingness to spend time with bad people.” Diane knew she was hardly in a position to criticize her friends for their immorality but disagreeing with Claire on semantics was a familiar rhythm she was more than happy to fall into.</p><p>     Mathilda raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Elaborate.”<br/>     “Well, you have people like Ben and Felix. Nice guys, but their friends are shitty. And when their friends are shitty, they don’t say anything about it. Which makes them complicit in the shittiness. So they’re good guys, but they participate in shitty behavior. They’re the exceptions to the rule.”</p><p>     Mathilda frowned. “But if you’re friends with the people in there, then you probably never disagree with them, right? Matt doesn’t seem like the type who likes to be challenged.”</p><p>     “Yeah, we don’t usually disagree, so what?” Claire was glancing at the door with a distaste most people reserved for rats or odd-tasting oranges.</p><p>     “Well, if you don’t disagree with them and they’re shitty people, aren’t you the exact same as Ben and Felix? Nice, but complicit in the shittiness?”</p><p>     Claire and Diane stared at her, speechless. “We never thought of that,” Diane said after a long pause. “Two minutes in and you’re already breaking our logic. Lila never should have invited you; you’ll break the whole system.”</p><p>     Mathilda laughed. “So… Now we knock?”</p><p>     “You can knock if you want to,” said Claire, “but I’m not going to give Lila the satisfaction of asking for entry to her home. What I’d really like is to slap her in the face, but I’ve been informed that that’s not an option.”</p><p>     “It isn’t,” Mathilda cut in. “Diane, o fearless leader, why don’t you take charge?”</p><p>     “Don’t call me ‘fearless leader,’ it makes me sound like a dictator instead of an elected official.”</p><p>     “Oh yeah. Congrats on student government, by the way.” Claire patted Diane on the back awkwardly. “Both of you. It’s nice that we’ll be in good hands next year.” Diane smiled, though it probably looked like more of a forced grimace.</p><p>     Mathilda, though, was genuinely thankful. “That’s so nice of you to say! You would definitely have made student government if that rumor hadn’t started about you. Then it would have been the three of us, without Matt. But some jerkface had to lie about you and cost you the election.” Diane kept a placid smile on her face but cursed herself internally. Mathilda was right, she was a jerkface, but there wasn’t anything she could do to take back her actions now.</p><p>     “Yeah, I think I know who it was.”</p><p>     Claire’s words pulled Diane out of her thoughts. She’d been absentmindedly twisting her hair tie, a telltale sign that she was nervous. Diane stilled her hands before speaking. “Who?”</p><p>     “Isn’t it obvious?” Mathilda and Diane looked at her blankly, so Claire elaborated. “It must have been Lila. With me out of the picture, she gets to be captain of the cheerleading squad and her boyfriend is on student government. She wins without losing anything.”</p><p>     Diane breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah,” she added, perhaps too quickly, “that seems like something Lila would do. She’s ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants.”</p><p>     “My point exactly. Both of you seem nice, so be careful around her, okay? She’ll use you as a steppingstone to get where she wants to go. Watch out for her.”</p><p>     Diane bristled at the implication that she couldn’t handle herself but remained quiet. “Alright, I’m knocking,” she declared.</p><p>     Lila opened the door seconds after Diane’s knock. “Hi everybody!” she squealed. Her voice was perhaps a touch too enthusiastic given her audience. “Thank you so much for coming. Mathilda, I know this was super last minute, but I wanted you here because this whole thing is to celebrate Matt making it onto student government! We’re so proud of him. I’m getting drinks for everyone, but we’re hanging out in the basement. Please, join them!”</p><p>     Diane, Claire, and Mathilda glanced at each other, surprised by Lila’s chipper tone in the face of people who didn’t actually care about her hosting skills. Claire inclined her head towards the stairs wordlessly, and the three of them disappeared down the stairs.</p><p>     As soon as they had faded from her view, Lila went into the bathroom and slammed her hand into the faucet so hard her nail chipped. People had been arriving for the past half hour and Matt still hadn’t shown up. The possibility that he’d been alienated by Lila’s suggestion was one she didn’t want to consider but seemed to be the most likely explanation. After all, he’d taken quite a bit of convincing to get on board with the plan in the first place. She needed security, some way to make sure Matt stuck with the plan and didn’t half ass it.</p><p>     He’d have to do the blackmail with her, she decided. Otherwise, it would be too easy for him to throw away the opportunity she was bending over backwards to create for him. He’d need to have as much to lose as she did. As she developed a plan of action, Lila studied the chip in her nail polish and deemed it insignificant enough to wait until later for attention. Steadying herself, she sank into the familiar ritual of applying her lip gloss. She filled the color in until her face was as flawless and perfect as the plans she’s lain in her mind.</p><p>     She was Lila fucking Davis, she thought, gazing at herself in the mirror, and she could do this.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Act One; Scene Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Despite what some people said about him, Matt knew he was a good guy. And because he was a good guy, he was having a hard time coming to terms with the things Lila had said to him earlier that day. She’d made some good points: Willow had basically said he deserved to be president, he’d be helping Diane and Mathilda, and he wouldn’t be doing anything wrong. It was almost surprising, how much Lila knew about the whole student government business. Sure, she’d helped with some parts of the campaign, but he hadn’t thought she’d been paying attention most of the time.</p><p>            Still, something felt off. A voice in his head nagged at him, keeping him from entering Lila’s house, even though he was already late, and Lila hated people who didn’t show up on time. It was that voice that had stopped him from immediately agreeing to Lila’s plan, and it was that voice now that warned him to run. To leave now, before he could do something bad.</p><p>            But what bad thing would he do? All Lila wanted was for him to be president, and that was something he wanted to. He probably would have won the election if people saw him as more than just a dumb jock. If people knew how smart he was, he would have won in a landslide. So maybe, Matt reasoned, he really was meant to be president and the kids at school just weren’t smart enough to realize it. The thought gave him enough strength to push away that voice and knock.</p><p>            It was a few moments longer than usual before Lila opened the door, but Matt barely noticed. “Hey,” he said. “I’ve been thinking. I definitely deserve to be president, but I don’t think that blackmailing Diane and Mathilda out of office is the way to go about doing it.” Lila shushed him and dragged him into the bathroom.</p><p>            “Do you want to say that louder?” she asked. “I think someone in Australia didn’t hear about your blackmail plans.” Lila kicked herself internally for the harsh words. She had to be soft, pliable, lovely if she wanted Matt on her side. “Sorry,” she whispered, looking away from him. “It’s just, I’m so stressed out by all of this. And you going back and forth is just making it so much worse.”</p><p>            Matt’s face tightened with pain, and Lila felt a thrill at how easily she’d changed his emotions. “Oh, I’m so sorry. What am I doing that’s making you stressed?”</p><p>            He was so attentive, she thought bitterly. He’d be a perfect boyfriend for someone different. Someone who actually was soft, pliable, and lovely. Instead, he had her. The world’s greatest actress, though nobody recognized her talents. “It’s just,” she said, biting her lip as though the words were too awful to say, “that if you’re willing to change your mind and go back on this, how do I know you won’t change your mind about other things?”</p><p>            “Other things?”</p><p>            “Like…” She paused and let a tear roll down her face. “What if you change your mind about me?”</p><p>            Matt wrapped her up in his arms, sighing deeply. “I would never change my mind about you, Lila.”</p><p>            She internally awarded herself an Oscar for the stellar performance. “But how do I know that? If you’re changing your mind about this so easily, how do I know you won’t do the same with me?”</p><p>            Matt sighed again. “Because I’ll do it. I’ll do this, the blackmail or whatever you want to call it.”</p><p>            Lila looked up at him, smiling through eyes still glassy with tears. “Really? And you’ll do it with me? I was so nervous about doing it alone, I was just trying to look tough for you, but if you’ll be there with me, I’ll feel so much better.” Actually, she was worried Matt would screw this whole thing up, but she couldn’t risk him backing out later.</p><p>            He nodded. “I’ll be there with you the whole time. Don’t stress about it, everything will be fine.”</p><p>            Lila giggled. “That kind of rhymed.”</p><p>            “Call me Dr. Seuss, I guess. You ready to join everyone else?”</p><p>            She looked around, as though trying to compose herself. “Yeah,” she said pleasantly. “We should go down separately, so that no one thinks anything weird is going on. Oh!” Lila pressed her hand against her forehead. “I’m such a bonehead. I told everyone I was getting drinks. Why don’t you go downstairs, and I’ll join you in a minute? Just remember to act normal and we’ll pull Mathilda and Diane aside later. Okay?”</p><p>            “Okay.” Matt unlocked the bathroom door and left, glancing over his shoulder at Lila. She almost laughed at his concern. It was ridiculous that he thought he had control over the situation. There were exactly two forces at play in Matt’s life: fate and Lila. He didn’t have to know it or believe it; it was true. Matt may not have had the courage to do what needed to be done, but she’d make sure fate gave him what he deserved.</p><p>            Smiling to herself and humming softly, Lila collected the drinks she’d promised her guests from the kitchen. It was almost funny, she thought. The only person who suspected she was anything more than Matt’s supportive and obedient girlfriend was Claire, and she was out of the picture. She’d been surprised to hear Claire level such a direct accusation against her, even if it was only in front of Diane and Mathilda. From her spot behind the door, she hadn’t been able to see how they reacted, but Diane’s refusal to come forward made the whole thing even funnier.<br/>            Diane, the only person who knew about Lila’s role in Claire’s fall from grace, could never tell anyone about it because Lila had the power to drag her down with her. Beyond Diane, Claire was the only person who would dare to accuse Lila of lying, but all Lila would have to do would be call Claire a sore loser and the whole argument would be over. Without even trying, Lila had wrapped herself in a cushion of lies and agreements that would save her from the consequences of her actions. Life, she decided, was a game. Most people were pawns, a few were players, but almost no one had figured out how to think as far ahead as she had.</p><p>            Muting her bright grin, Lila took the drinks and went downstairs.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Act Two; Scene One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Ben had probably spent more time with Matt than any other person in the room. They’d been friends since elementary school and soccer teammates for almost as long, so Ben felt confident in saying that he knew Matt better than anyone else. He’d also gotten good at reading Matt’s expressions over the years, and he’d never seen anything like the face Matt had made when Willow had gone into her… trance? Vision?</p><p>            Whatever it was, it had sent Matt into a state of such shock and outright emotion that Ben hadn’t been able to read the expressions on his face. Throughout their friendship, Ben had observed a trend in Matt’s behavior. Whenever he felt too many emotions, when he was confused, when he was uncertain, he got angry. And the person he got angry at was the person who caused the emotional confusion. Yelling at Willow was a predictable action. So why had Ben been so surprised at the anger flickering in Matt’s eyes?</p><p>            And then, he thought, things had gotten even weirder. He and Matt still hadn’t talked about Willow’s prophecy, but he could tell it had been consuming Matt. Lately, Matt had been slipping into silences intermittently during conversations, which was unusual. Ben would have enjoyed Matt’s quiet, which allowed him time to speak his mind, had he even slightly believed that Matt was listening. And, because Matt wasn’t the type of person who usually lent himself to deep thought, it stood to reason that he was primarily thinking about what Willow had said. All these observations gathered in Ben’s mind, pooling into a sort of dread that only intensified when Lila walked into the room.</p><p>            It wasn’t that Ben disliked Lila. It was more that he didn’t trust her, thought she was manipulative, and had yet to see any of her redeeming qualities. Matt always told him to give her a shot, but Ben suspected their relationship had more to do with Lila maneuvering Matt into doing what she wanted than any real emotional connection. Perhaps he was biased against Lila because of his sister.</p><p>            Marla had been friends with Lila since third grade but had stopped speaking to her halfway through freshman year. When he heard about it, Ben had barged into her room and demanded to know why she was turning her back on her oldest friend. Marla simply rolled over on her bed and told him she had no place in her life for a backstabbing bitch.</p><p>            Ben later learned that Lila had kissed Marla’s boyfriend and convinced him to break up with her. Marla hadn’t been so much upset by the betrayal as by the fact that Lila wasn’t even into the guy. Her sole reason for breaking Marla and her boyfriend up had been to ensure that Marla remained dependent on her. Marla claimed to be over it, but Ben could see the steel in her eyes where before she had been warm and kind. He would have been glad to see her grow a backbone if it hadn’t come at such a high emotional cost.</p><p>            So no, he didn’t trust Lila. And because he didn’t trust Lila, he didn’t trust Matt around Lila, at least not as much as he trusted Matt alone. Which was why he’d have to get Matt alone if he wanted to talk about what had happened with Willow. Judging by the look on Lila’s face when Matt tried to extricate himself from her to talk to a group of his friends, it would be difficult to maneuver him away from her.</p><p>            Turning back to his boyfriend, Felix, Ben attempted to shuffle the deck of cards he’d been holding for the past fifteen minutes. His hand slipped, sending cards everywhere.</p><p>            Felix batted one away from his face. “I think you’re doing that wrong,” he said.</p><p>            “No, I’m not. It’s a special kind of shuffle. A famous one. All the poker players use it.” Ben snatched the card back from Felix and set up his next attempt at a shuffle.</p><p>            “Really? All the poker players, hmm? And what’s it called?”</p><p>            “The Felix-Needs-to-Shut-Up shuffle. It’s very popular, especially because it’s named after a statement that’s so uncontroversial.”</p><p>            “I’ve never heard of that one.”</p><p>            “That’s because you’re too busy talking to hear about it.”</p><p>            Felix shook his head and reached out a hand. “Hand those over before you take someone’s eye out. I want to play poker.”</p><p>            Ben smirked and handed over the cards. As Felix set up the game, Ben glanced at Matt. With Lila distracted by the poker game, the two of them could sneak upstairs into the kitchen undetected. Matt nodded slightly, and the two disappeared up the stairs. The kitchen walls were covered in photos of Lila’s brother at various stages of growth, Ben noted, but pictures of Lila were few and far between.</p><p>            “Why aren’t there any pictures of Lila?” asked Ben.</p><p>            Matt looked around, as though noting the disparity for the first time. “Huh. I guess she doesn’t like being in pictures.” He shook his head, as though he could shake loose whatever was bothering him. “So, I wanted to talk about some stuff.”</p><p>            Ben climbed to sit on the counter. “Is it about what Willow said?”</p><p>            “Kind of. I know I’m being weird today.”</p><p>            Not just today, thought Ben, curious to see where this was going.</p><p>            “It’s throwing me off that Diane and Mathilda are here. It feels like they’re rubbing it in my faces, how they made president and vice president and I’m stuck in third place behind two girls. I mean, Willow was probably just lying to me to get my hopes up.”</p><p>            Ben cringed internally at Matt’s words. As they’d grown older, a divide had begun to form between the two of them. Matt’s careless language had begun to grate on Ben’s nerves, even more so once he had come out and Matt maintained his casual homophobia. But friendships of so many years couldn’t dissipate that easily, so Ben held on, wishing Matt would change but never able to force him to do so.</p><p>            “I don’t think the election’s results have any bearing on what Willow told you. You could still be president, even if you didn’t win.” Ben hoped that would be enough to prompt Matt to talk about how he’d acted in front of Willow.</p><p>            Apparently, it wasn’t, because Matt continued to fixate on Diane and Mathilda. “Think about it, though,” he said. “Will either of them step down? No! Mathilda lives for this kind of thing and it’s Diane’s only chance to be taken seriously, so neither one of them is going to give up their post. Which means I’ll be treasurer the whole time. The laughingstock of the entire school.”</p><p>            “First of all,” Ben ticked a finger forward, “you’re not a laughingstock. Secondly, what do you mean when you say it’s Diane’s only chance to be taken seriously?”</p><p>            “Well, it’s not like she’s known for being smart. Her biggest things are having a popular boyfriend and being popular.”</p><p>            “And running the newspaper.”</p><p>            “Yeah, but that’s not what people know her for. She doesn’t even run it by herself. Co-editor-in-chief, right? Nobody sees her as a smart, competent person, so this is her only way of making herself seem legit.”</p><p>            Ben frowned. “And you came to this conclusion how?”</p><p>            “Lila mentioned some parts of it to me—”<br/>            “So you’ll just blindly listen to what Lila tells you no matter what, is that it?”</p><p>            Matt slapped his hand against the counter. “See? This is why I don’t tell you things. You always get really mad for no reason and try to make me think I only do what Lila tells.”</p><p>            “Matt, you’re being really bitter towards Diane and Mathilda. I get that you’re upset you lost, but I don’t think that gives you the right to accuse Diane of being incompetent.”</p><p>            “I never said she was incompetent, I said other people think she’s incompetent.”<br/>            “So you think Diane is worthy of being president?” Ben had expected Matt to answer immediately. Instead, a heavy pause hung in the air.</p><p>            “No.” The cold word cut straight to Ben’s bones.</p><p>            “Why not?” he asked, dreading the response.</p><p>            “She has no qualifications to be president; she’ll just embarrass herself once she’s in office.”</p><p>            “She’s been to every student government meeting over the past year. I’ve seen her talk to Willow, William, and Wanda about how to best run her campaign and how she should conduct meetings once in office. If anything, she’s overly qualified.”</p><p>            Matt shook his head. “And that’s where we disagree. She has no leadership experience, Ben. You have to understand that this won’t go well for her.”</p><p>            Ben was utterly speechless. “I think the poker game is ending,” he said slowly, hopping off the counter. “I’m going to go back downstairs.”</p><p>            “Sure. Can you tell Lila to come up here?”</p><p>            Ben nodded, glancing over his shoulder just one time before leaving the kitchen. Matt sank to the ground and leaned against the counter. Glancing around the room, he considered the few pictures of Lila as a child. He’d gone to school with her for years, but he didn’t remember her at any stage of these pictures. Come to think of it, he hadn’t really noticed her until sophomore year. What had Lila been like, he thought, the entire time before he noticed her?</p><p>            Soft footsteps hurried into the kitchen before stopping in front of him.</p><p>            “What’s wrong?” asked Lila.</p><p>            “Nothing. Here, sit with me?” Lila obliged, slightly confused but willing to play along.</p><p>            “What were you like, before we met?” Matt gestured at the few pictures on the wall. “I don’t remember you when you were the girl in those pictures. Were you any different than you are now?”</p><p>            Lila rested her head on Matt’s shoulders. “Well, I was pretty different. I used to spend all my time focusing on school and I would, like, never have fun. At all. God, it was so boring. And my friends were a crowd that you wouldn’t even recognize today. I was actually friends with Ben’s sister for a while. I think part of the reason he hates me is because he thinks I did something fucked up to his sister.”</p><p>            “Really? What happened?”<br/>            “His sister had this boyfriend who was, like, totally into me. And the boyfriend just up and kissed me one day, but Marla thought I was turning him against her or something. So she thought I was a backstabbing bitch, and now Ben thinks that to.”</p><p>            “Is that why you’re not friends with any of those people anymore?”<br/>            Lila sighed. “No, I just think I kind of outgrew them. They wanted to spend their time stressed out about school and I wanted more than that for            myself. Plus, when I joined cheerleading, they all thought I was shallow and not worth their time.”</p><p>            “I’m sorry,” Matt said. There was such sincerity in his eyes that Lila kissed him just so she wouldn’t have to look at them anymore.</p><p>            “It’s all in the past.” Sometimes, at moments like these, Lila wished that she and Matt could just have a normal relationship. That she could have a normal relationship. That she didn’t always have to go for the jugular to get what she wanted. It was a blessing, in some respects, her innate ability to do what was necessary. But when it prevented her from having good things like this moment with Matt, it was hell.</p><p>            Savoring the moment for one last second, Lila pushed her hair back. “What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, breaking the spell.</p><p>            “Right. Ben gave me some new information about this whole deal and I’m not sure that Diane is a bad fit for the presidency.”</p><p>            Lila looked at him skeptically.</p><p>            “I know, I didn’t believe him either,” Matt said. “But he said he saw Diane at all the meetings asking questions and trying to figure out how to be a good leader. Do you think there’s any chance that she’s actually going to be good as president?”</p><p>            “No. There isn’t a chance in hell that she’ll be better than you would be. Think about it, Matt. You’re the captain of the soccer team. You’re used to being an authority figure, you’ve held leadership positions in the past, and you definitely seem like you’d be able to lead a meeting. It’s not about whether she’s worthy or whatever, it’s about whether you deserve it more or less than she does. And I promise you, you deserve it more than anyone else.”</p><p>             “Yeah, I guess.” Matt sighed and ruffled his hair.</p><p>            “Something else is bothering you, isn’t it?” It didn’t take a genius to figure that much out.</p><p>            “It’s Ben. I just can’t talk about him to you because you hate him, and I can’t talk about you to him because he hates you. The two most important people in my life, and you can’t stand each other.” He gave a hollow sort of half-laugh.</p><p>            “You can tell me and I promise not to say anything mean.”</p><p>            “Nothing judgmental, either?”</p><p>            “Nothing judgmental.”</p><p>            “I get the feeling that Ben doesn’t think I deserve to be president. He saw Willow tell me I would win, but he didn’t congratulate me or say anything that made it seem like he’d be proud of me. Even just now, when I told him how frustrated I was that I wouldn’t be president, he acted like he thought Diane and Mathilda would be better at the job than I am. It just sucks that my best friend doesn’t even believe in me.”<br/>            Lila disliked Ben for many reasons and distrusted him for more, but she had a more pressing question on her mind. “When you say you told him you were frustrated, what did you say?”</p><p>            “Just that it seemed like Willow was lying because if she’d been telling the truth, I wouldn’t be stuck in third place.”</p><p>            “Did you say you wanted to be president?”</p><p>            “Kind of. Why does it matter?”</p><p>            Lila hesitated, then decided against voicing the thought she had begun to form. “Never mind. Matt, let’s make one thing clear. You deserve to be president. Willow said so, and it’s true. Ben just doesn’t want to believe that you might not be the same person he’s known his entire life. Change is scary, and this is a big change. He might just be trying to keep things the way they are. I guess the main question for you is, do you feel like you’re ready to be president? Like you’re a better fit for the job than Mathilda and Diane?”</p><p>            “Yeah.”</p><p>            “Then you don’t even have to worry about what Ben says. You’re going to go out and take what’s rightfully yours.”<br/>            “Yes.”</p><p>            “Actually, I could text Diane and Mathilda and get them to come upstairs now, if you’re ready to go.”</p><p>            Matt nodded. “Do it.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Act Two; Scene Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Diane didn’t know much about poker, but from her internet-gleaned understanding of the value of each poker hands, she was probably about to lose. She was saved from what would have been a most embarrassing loss by a text message.</p><p><em>            Come upstairs,</em> Lila wrote. Diane frowned. Lila never texted her unless she needed something, and there was nothing good that Lila could want from her at that moment. Rejecting Lila would probably be worse, thought Diane, setting her cards down on the table. As the few remaining players groaned, she shrugged.</p><p>            “Lila wants me upstairs, so upstairs I will go,” she declared.</p><p>            Mathilda jumped up from the couch she’d been sharing with Claire. “She sent me a message too, so I guess I’ll go with you?”</p><p>            Diane nodded and followed Mathilda up the stairs, digging her hand into the banister as she climbed. She hoped its steady strength would prevent any harm from coming to her but doubted the piece of wood stood a chance against the typhoon that was Lila. Mathilda didn’t seem nervous, so Diane clung to the hope that everything would be fine, her intuition practically screaming at her that something was wrong.</p><p>            Her convictions were only reinforced when she realized Matt and Lila were waiting in the dining room, standing at head of the table. Matt stood just behind Lila—close enough to indicate that they were a unit but far enough that it was clear she was in charge.</p><p>            “Diane, Mathilda, please take a seat.” Lila’s steely gaze left no room for argumentation. Diane sat and stared back at Lila with what she hoped was a fearless expression.</p><p>            “What is this about?” asked Mathilda, reluctantly taking a chair.</p><p>            “I’ll get to that in due time. For now, all you need to know is that I have a… proposal. A sort of business agreement. I think that I can help you and that you can help me, and if you agree with that, then we’ll have no problems.” Though Lila was clearly trying to sound composed and threatening, Diane picked up on the glee that underscored her words. If she was this excited, she had a plan that would make resistance futile.</p><p>            “What would you need us to do?” Diane asked. Mathilda looked shocked, but Diane kicked her beneath the table. She’d rather not know what would happen to them if they didn’t comply.</p><p>            “Step down from student government.”</p><p>            “No.” It was still possible that Lila was bluffing. Maybe. Probably not, but Diane was willing to grasp at straws rather than give up the position she’d worked so hard for.<br/>            Mathilda had no such doubts, apparently. “Absolutely not,” she said, stony gaze fixated on Lila. “You may scare everyone else, but I’m not afraid of you, Lila. I know you’re just a cheerleader who’s not used to being denied the things you want. But you are not getting student council president for your boyfriend.”</p><p>            Lila touched her hand to her mouth and gasped. “Miss Zhang! You do offend me so.” Her mockingly polite tone faded back into the ruthless voice Diane knew. She’d never thought it would be turned on her.</p><p>            “Since you seem to consider yourself above my proposal, I think I’ll let you know why you should do it. And you really should. Because if you don’t, there are some very incriminating things that might circulate the school.”</p><p>            “There’s nothing you could possibly have on me,” Mathilda said.</p><p>            “Really? That’s awfully confident of you to say, isn’t it? I’ve noticed that you and Claire are spending a lot of time together. Have you been telling people that you met on Friday? That you’ve never hung out before? Because… Actually, I think the best way for me to tell you this is for me to paint you a word picture.</p><p>            “Imagine this. It’s fall. I’m at my dear friend Claire’s Halloween party. She’s drunk beyond belief and telling me all the things she’d never tell me otherwise. Most notably, she mentions a girl in her calculus class that she finds interesting. I’m not too surprised that Claire is into girls and have no problem with it. The interesting part, to me, at least, is that the girl, according to Claire, feels the same way. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. The most interesting part is that Claire has flirtatious and downright romantic texts going back to September with this girl from her calc class.</p><p>            “The whole thing was so sweet. So romantic. Or, it would have been, if the girl could come out. Tragically, this girl came from a super religious and conservative family. In fact, her brother was already interning for a conservative lawmaker and running the school’s conservative club. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear. Now, imagine that poor girl. Imagine those text messages, of which I have screenshots, spreading around the school. Wouldn’t that be absolutely devastating?”</p><p>            Mathilda gritted her teeth. “No way you have screenshots. And do you know how easy it is to fake text messages? You can’t prove that I actually sent them.”</p><p>            Lila pulled out her phone and sent Mathilda a message. “You just received a copy. As for your other concern, it’ll be true by virtue of me saying it. Once I tell people about you, they’ll see all the evidence they’ve missed. It’ll be your word against mine. Spoiler alert: I’ll win. So, Mathilda, are you stepping down or not?”<br/>            Tears pricking at her eyes, Mathilda nodded. “What about Diane? Why should she do it?”</p><p>            “I thought you’d never ask. Although… Diane, are you sure you want me to tell her?” Lila lowered her voice to a conspiratorial stage whisper. “Given her close relationship with Claire, I’m not sure she should know.”</p><p>            Diane could tell where this was going. Faced with no good options, she decided to attack the only thing close to a chink in Lila’s armor. “Matt, I never took you for a blackmailer. This was all Lila’s idea, wasn’t it?”</p><p>            Matt didn’t move from his spot behind Lila.</p><p>            “Seriously? You won’t even dignify me with a response when you’re blackmailing me so that you can take my spot on student government? Stop cowering behind your girlfriend and talk to me.”</p><p>            “I’m not cowering. Lila’s better at this than I am.”</p><p>            Diane smiled internally. It was almost too easy, getting Matt to talk. All she had to do was insinuate he was inferior to a woman and he’d jump into action. It would take a little more finesse to get him to cut the blackmail, but there was a chance she could pull it off. “I know this is all Lila’s idea. You’re too smart to blackmail—you know why blackmailing fails every time. Plus, you’re a nice guy, and blackmail is a messed-up thing to do.”</p><p>            “Diane, don’t you want to know why you’re going to do what we tell you to?” Lila’s saccharine voice sent chills down Diane’s spine.</p><p>            “I want Matt to tell me what he thinks about this. Then I’ll listen to whatever lies you’ll tell about me.”</p><p>            Lila nodded at Matt, who spoke quietly. “Why do you think blackmail fails all the time?”</p><p>            “Well, for one thing, blackmailers always get caught. All it takes is one slip up, one threatening phone call that gets overheard, and it’s over.”</p><p>            Mathilda, who had been blinking back tears and staring at her lap, looked up. “And, if you release the information, you have no leverage left over the person. So really, there’s no incentive for you to spread the information even if they don’t do what you say.”</p><p>            “Matt,” Lila said sweetly, ever the perfect girlfriend. “I promise you, everything is going to be fine. They’re just trying to convince you not to do it because that’s what’s best for them.” She turned to look at Diane. “That was a clever trick, Diane, but I think you’ve done enough talking for today. Instead, let me enlighten you as to what you have to lose if you don’t step down.”<br/>            “Please.” Diane was no longer scared and instead fixed her most hateful glare on Lila.</p><p>            “Exactly one week ago today, I got a text message. <em>How would you like to be captain of the cheerleading squad? </em>I responded to the message, and a very interesting proposal was given to me. Basically, a certain somebody who was worried about her chances in the student government election asked me to spread a rumor about her main competition. A rumor so damaging to her reputation that it would result in her being booed off the cheerleading squad.</p><p>            “I did as the text message suggested, and the person who texted me ended up winning the election! How exciting for her. Then, I kicked the other girl off the squad and took her place as captain. We all got what we wanted. Except for poor Claire. How do you think the school would feel, Diane, if they knew that their president got where she was by deliberately sinking another candidate’s campaign? How do you think your newfound friendship with Claire would go?”</p><p>            Diane laughed. “If that’s the information you want to release, you’re a fool. After all, you spread the rumor yourself. You can’t tell people about something bad I did if you actively helped me.”<br/>            “I’m willing to go down with you. Plus, the fallout will be a lot worse for you. I can just say that I thought the story was true—you never did clarify that it was a lie.” Diane stayed silent. “So, are we in agreement? You’ll both hand in your resignations come Monday?”</p><p>            Mathilda and Diane nodded, then stood.</p><p>            As Diane left the room, she turned over her shoulder to speak to Lila. “We’ll show ourselves out. You’ve been gone for a suspiciously long period of time and you do have guests over. Matt, for the record, I still think you’re just a good guy who got caught up with the wrong girl.” It was worth a shot, she supposed, trying to pull Matt into sympathizing with her. Mathilda didn’t even look back, just stalked towards the front door, shoulders tensed. Diane didn’t need to look at her eyes to know she was on the verge of tears.</p><p>            Once they were outside Lila’s house and had reached what Mathilda must have deemed a safe distance, she began to speak.</p><p>            “I thought you were a good person, you know? You seemed really sweet in all the classes we had together, and that day on the field, with the dandelion crowns, I thought we might actually be friends. But this? You full on manipulated Claire out of the election for absolutely no reason.” Diane remained silent. “Look, in honor of the great person I thought you were, I’m giving you a chance right now to explain yourself.”</p><p>            Diane glanced at her shoes and shuffled her feet. “I can’t,” she said.</p><p>            “What?”</p><p>            “I can’t explain myself. You’re right. I did a shitty thing. There’s no justification for it I can possibly give. I can tell you why I did it, but that won’t make it right. And I feel so guilty. So unbelievably guilty. Every time I look at Claire I want to throw up because I feel so bad. So if you want me to apologize, I’m sorry. Truly. But there’s no way for me to explain away an action that’s that irrevocably fucked up.”</p><p>            Mathilda grabbed Diane’s hand. She hadn’t noticed it was shaking until Mathilda stilled it. “Tell me why you did it. And then I’ll judge whether I can forgive you for it.”</p><p>            “I think I tried to rationalize it by saying that we were going to split the vote of our friends, so if only one of us ran, we’d better represent the will of the people. Really, though, I just wanted to win and I knew that the only person who stood a chance at beating me was Claire. I wanted her out of the way, and I did hear the rumor about a Northbrook boyfriend so I thought there was some chance it could be true and I wasn’t lying. I was, though. It was all a lie meant to get someone out of my way. So if you think I’m just like Lila and want me to leave you alone, I’ll do it. I’d probably do the same thing.”<br/>            Mathilda looked at Diane, taking in the leg that she’d begun to tap and the honesty she wore on her face. “One more question.” Diane nodded. “What do you think about what just happened in there?”<br/>            “You mean what do I think about you and Claire?” Mathilda nodded. “I’m not Claire’s biggest fan, but she is really pretty. If she makes you happy, go for it.” When Mathilda didn’t speak again, Diane smacked herself in the head. “Oh! Also I support you if you’re into girls or boys or both or neither and you don’t deserve to be blackmailed for who you are.” She smiled sheepishly. “That should have come first, but I thought you were asking me about you and Claire specifically not being gay in general.” Mathilda laughed, a short bark of noise that sounded about as strained as she most likely was. “One more thing. What she said, about your parents and your brother, that’s really fucked up. And like, if you want to talk or you ever need a place to crash, I have your back.”</p><p>            Mathilda waited a moment after Diane finished speaking. “Are you done or is there going to be another thing tacked on? That was a very generic allyship speech but I appreciate it all the same. Hopefully it won’t come to a point where I have to take you up on that offer. And Claire does make me happy, for the record. Which is why I feel kind of bad leaving her alone in there.”</p><p>            “Oh, yeah. I’m gonna be honest, I forgot about that.”</p><p>            “I’ll text her to meet up with us. Are you busy right now?”</p><p>            “No, why?”</p><p>            “Well, we can’t just let Lila take over our lives lying down, can we? We might be stepping down from student government on Monday, but that doesn’t mean we won’t do anything about this. Unless, of course, you’re scared of messing with her? Or you want to be blackmailed into absolute submission.”</p><p>            “Of course I want to fight back. But don’t you want time to just wallow in the anger?”</p><p>            “Who needs to get mad when you can get even?”</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Act Two; Scene Three</h2></a>
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    <p>            Lila scanned Matt’s face as he watched Mathilda and Diane leave the house. If he looked remorseful, she’d have to talk him back into a state of excitement that she didn’t quite have energy for at the moment. Which was strange, because she’d been full of energy a few moments before.</p><p>            Looking at Mathilda and Diane, knowing she’d boxed them into a situation from which they couldn’t escape but that they had created for themselves, Lila had felt a surge of power the likes of which she’d never imagined. It was intoxicating, the feeling of being in complete control of what happened. Willow might have been the one to predict destiny, but Lila was the one to control it.</p><p>             “You were so calm.” Matt continued to stare out the window, but he was clearly addressing her. “How were you so good at that? It was like you knew exactly what to say to make them do what you wanted them to.” His childlike wonder garnered enough sympathy from Lila that she didn’t tell him the truth.</p><p>            “I watch a lot of old timey mafia movies,” she said. “After a while, you just know what kind of thing will sound intimidating and clever. It’s really not that hard.”</p><p>            “You’re so cool… I had no idea my girlfriend was a secret badass mafia boss.”</p><p>            “Seriously, Matt. It was nothing. Not a big deal.” Though Lila tried to soften her words, she could tell she’d failed by Matt’s flinch. “Sorry,” she sighed. “That came out wrong. I just don’t want you thinking I’m secretly someone I’m not. And today has been really stressful, so I’m really tense.” She blinked back imaginary tears because if there was one thing Matt couldn’t resist, it was being a knight in shining armor.</p><p>            “Hey, hey, don’t worry about it,” he said gently. “I get that this has been really hard on you. I’m sorry for stressing you out. Why don’t you take a minute and then we’ll go downstairs. Together. Just like always. Okay?”</p><p>            Inserting a false tremor into her voice, Lila nodded. “Okay.” She took a deep breath, steadying the tiniest part of her soul, the one that was still unsettled by the look of abject terror on Mathilda’s face. <em>This is supposed to happen</em>, she reminded herself. Matt was still gazing at her like she was the most fragile thing in the universe. She let him believe it. “Let’s go.”</p><p>            He was concerned enough to leave his hand on her back, grounding her as they walked through the kitchen and down the stairs. For a moment, she let herself imagine that Matt was her concerned and understanding boyfriend who could easily tell that she was in a bad mood. Lila didn’t let herself dwell on the fact that she’d taken such great pains to hide her emotions from Matt that there was no way for him to guess what she was going through.</p><p>            At least, she thought, there wasn’t anything left on her to-do list for the day. It was only when she reached the basement that she remembered Claire. Somehow, despite the fact that she now had control over everything Claire had once held dear (namely, the cheerleading squad and Mathilda), the sigh of Claire still filled her with unimaginable wrath. Smiling warmly, as though she could temper her anger by faking joy, Lila went to the chair on which Claire was sitting.</p><p>            Though there was no one close enough to hear, Lila chose to whisper directly into Claire’s ear. “Your… friend got sick. She and Diane went home.”</p><p>            “Mathilda? Sick? I don’t buy that for a second, Lila,” she whispered with equal softness. “Sick of your bullshit, maybe. I don’t know what you did to make her leave, but if it’s bad, you’ll pay for it. Remember, Lila, I’ve been with you through all your darkest moments. There are things about you I could tell everyone. And then where would you be?”</p><p>            Lila’s smile simply grew. “Well then, I suggest you consult with your girlfriend before you expose my secrets. I assure you, whatever you have on me? It’s nothing compared to what I could do to the two of you. If you’re going to threaten me, kindly leave my home, would you?”</p><p>            Without so much as a thank you or a glance backwards, Claire left the basement. Lila tried not to let her anger show, instead clenching her jaw and sinking into the words of the flock of cheerleaders who surrounded her.</p><p>            “Did she just leave without saying goodbye?”</p><p>            “She did.”</p><p>            “Oh my god that’s so rude, Lila, I cannot believe she did that to you.”<br/>
            “Who does she think she is? She’s not even captain anymore so it’s not like we have to put up with her attitude.”<br/>
            “She always thought she was better than us. I’m so glad we have you instead, Lila.”</p><p>            Smiling at the adoring faces that surrounded her, Lila nodded. “It’s fine,” she said. “I guess she’s bitter but she’ll get what’s coming to her.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is where the document on my computer ends abruptly! Shoutout to anyone who's made it to this point, thank you for reading. If someone wandering around the internet finds this and wants me to continue it at some point when I have more time, drop a comment and we'll see what happens.</p>
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